DejaOffice for iOS Receives Major Update

Don’t let the version number fool you – DejaOffice 1.2.6 for iOS is a major update. While you won’t notice too many cosmetic changes (yet), we’ve done quite a bit of work under the hood.

The biggest focus of this update has been DejaCalendar. We’ve completely rewritten the calendar to improve stability and sync reliability. Right away, you’ll notice a much smoother experience when using the app. This is just the beginning for us, however. We have exciting plans for DejaOffice!

Continue reading

Sync Outlook on Windows 8 Developer Preview

Image Credit: PCAuthority

I know – Windows 8 won’t actually be released until sometime next year. That hasn’t stopped us from working with the Windows 8 Developer Preview, however. After some initial testing, I’m happy to inform you CompanionLink works great with Windows 8! That’s right – we can sync Outlook from Windows 8 to your mobile device. CompanionLink works with both 32- and 64-bit versions of Outlook. We can also sync ACT!, Salesforce, Lotus Notes, Palm Desktop, Zoho, and more, all from Windows 8!

You’ll want to ensure you’re running the latest version of CompanionLink, but other than that there are no special steps required to get up and running in Windows 8. So, if you enjoy working with the latest technology and software (like I do!), rest assured CompanionLink is there to support your synchronization of contacts, calendar, tasks and notes.

CompanionLink 5 Launches Today

As of today, CompanionLink 5 is officially out of beta!

If you haven’t already heard what’s new, head over to our blog post announcing the beta to read all about it, but know that you can expect the following:

– A completely redesigned interface
– New setup wizards to help you configure a reliable sync process
– Multiple device profiles in CompanionLink Express
– CompanionLink Professional now allows up to 5 profiles
– Support for the latest CRM software and mobile OS’s
– Numerous bug fixes and sync improvements

Prices start at $14.95.  We have discounted upgrades for existing customers.  Visit our storefront and click on the blue Upgrade button next to the product you want to upgrade to.

A Fresh New Look

Today, we’re excited to unveil our fresh new website. We’ve completely redesigned the look and feel, and we think it’s a big improvement! Not only that, but we’ve focused on making it even easier to get around. From the “Help Me Choose” widget on our home page to the brand new product pages to our handy “Getting Started” page, the new website was built to get you the information you need quickly, easily, and, quite frankly, beautifully!

So take a few minutes to check out the new site and let us know what you think! Leave your thoughts in the comments below or send us a note at marketing@companionlink.com!

CompanionLink Adds Support for ACT! 2012

We weren’t the only ones with a big announcement yesterday – Sage officially released ACT! 2012 to the public. While I touched on support for ACT! 2012 in yesterday’s post, I wanted to highlight the topic in its own post.

With the release of CompanionLink 5 (currently in beta), we officially support syncing contacts, calendar activities, contact notes and histories, to-dos and opportunities between ACT! 2012 and many popular Android, iOS, BlackBerry, webOS, and Windows Phone devices, among others.

If you’re already using ACT! with CompanionLink and have upgraded to ACT! 2012, there’s very little you need to do to keep syncing – just ensure you’ve opened ACT! 2012 at least once. This allows ACT! to perform a necessary database update. After that, just make sure you’re running the latest version of CompanionLink and you’ll be set to sync!

CompanionLink 5 Beta Available Now

We’re pleased to announce the CompanionLink 5 beta is now available to download! We have been hard at work on CompanionLink 5, and we think you’re going to love this update. So, let’s jump in to what’s new!

An Entirely Rebuilt Experience

CompanionLink 5 brings a brand new user interface. We wanted to make the process of setting up and maintaining your sync easier than ever. As you walk through the setup, you’ll notice new wizards along the way. These are designed to guide you through the basic configuration – how the majority of people use CompanionLink.  If you have advanced needs, you’ll be able to customize your sync using the Advanced Settings button.

Support For The Latest and Greatest

CompanionLink 5 is built to support the latest hardware and software. Support for ACT! 2012, a product that was just released this morning, is already included in the first beta. When iOS 5 and Android “Ice Cream Sandwich” land in the near future, CompanionLink 5 will be ready to support them. And as new devices are released, CompanionLink 5 will be continually updated to ensure compatibility.

Multiple Profiles In Express

Until now, if you wanted to sync more than one device, you needed to upgrade to CompanionLink Professional and use our “Profiles” feature. Profiles allow you to sync multiple devices to one or more databases. You can even customize what data syncs to each device. It’s a great feature, and one that we want to make more accessible.

So, we are.

We’re adding support for two profiles in CompanionLink Express 5. CompanionLink Professional will support up to five profiles. Now, I should note that this feature isn’t in the beta just yet, but it will be making its way to the official CompanionLink 5 release!

Everything Else

By now, you’re probably wondering when the official CompanionLink 5 release will be. Starting today, we’ll gather feedback on the CompanionLink 5 beta and make any adjustments as needed. Once we’re satisfied with the feedback and performance, we’ll drop the beta tag and officially release CompanionLink 5. We expect that process to take a few weeks.

Here’s the best news: CompanionLink 5 will be a free upgrade for anyone who’s purchased CompanionLink on or after July 1, 2010. For everyone else, our upgrade pricing is coming soon.

Head over to our downloads page to try out CompanionLink 5 today! And please be sure to send us your feedback at marketing@companionlink.com or leave a comment below. We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Note: We’ve been testing CompanionLink 5 extensively. However, as with any beta release, I’d like to remind you that you may encounter unexpected behavior. Please keep that in mind if you opt to try out the beta.

Sync the Samsung Galaxy S II Series with your PC

Image Credit: DroidLifeSamsung recently announced that their Android-powered Galaxy S II Series of smartphones will be available in three separate models beginning September 16th. The Samsung Galaxy S II Series will be available on AT&T, Sprint, & T-Mobile.

The Samsung Galaxy S II from AT&T features a 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus display, a dual core 1.2GHz processor, and AT&T’s brand new 4G speeds. The Galaxy S II will be available from AT&T on October 2.

The Samsung Galaxy S II is dubbed the Epic 4G Touch by Sprint and features a 4.52” Super AMOLED Plus display, a dual core 1.2GHz processor, and 16GB of built-in storage. The Epic 4G Touch will be available for $199 beginning September 16.

The Samsung Galaxy S II from T-Mobile boasts a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 2MP front facing camera 16GB of internal storage. The Galaxy S II will be available from T-Mobile later this fall.

Each of these devices clearly feature the latest powerful hardware, yet they lack an easy way to sync with Microsoft Outlook and other CRM databases.

Using CompanionLink, it’s possible to sync contacts, calendar, tasks and notes between the Samsung Galaxy S II Series and CRM software such as Microsoft Outlook, ACT!, Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes, and more. You can sync direct via USB, over local Wi-Fi, via our Secure Hosted wireless, or via Google.

Find more info, as well as a 14-day free trial, at www.companionlink.com/galaxy

Want to sync the Samsung Galaxy SII with Outlook?
Download a free trial of CompanionLink for Outlook today!

CompanionLink Makes The Inc. 5000

Image Credit: Inc.CompanionLink recently earned the position of #2,057 on the 2011 Inc. 5000 list. The Inc. 5000 highlights the fasting growing private companies in the United States. To earn a spot on the list, a company is required to have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2007 as well as be based in the United States, privately held, for profit, and independent.

We’re thrilled, and honored, to be featured on this list. The past few years have shown amazing growth, not just for CompanionLink, but for the entire mobile industry. Looking back to March 31, 2007 – the qualifying date set by Inc. – the iPhone had not even made it’s way into the public’s hands and Android was entirely unknown to the masses. In just a few short years, we’ve all come a long way!

Looking forward, we’re excited for the future. We’re committed to enhancing mobile productivity on all the latest devices, whatever they may be!

webOS Lives On At CompanionLink [Updated]

Image Credit: HP

Update: USB sync is now live for all webOS devices! Read about it here.

The past week has been a bit of a roller coaster for webOS fans. We feel you – in fact, we’re right there with you. CompanionLink has worked with webOS since long before it was ever webOS. Back in 1997, CompanionLink was in the room at Palm’s first developer conference. Since then, we’ve worked closely with Palm, Palm OS, and webOS. Our software has allowed people to get their PIM and CRM information to Palm devices for years.

With the advent of webOS 2.x, we ran into a hurdle – as did many developers. The communication lines with the webOS team became blurred.  First, it was the HP acquisition. Then, the bombshell announcement by HP last week.

While CompanionLink was able to provide syncing options via Google, we could not find a way to connect via USB as we had in the past. I’m happy to announce that we plan to bring USB sync to webOS 2.x and 3.x in the coming weeks. This is a tribute to those people who have hung on to their webOS devices through thick and thin. It’s a shout out to those bloggers who have spent more than two years evangelizing the webOS platform.

We’ve had a long history with the Palm platform. While the future of webOS may be filled with uncertainty, there is one thing you can count on: we will continue to support webOS for as long as we are able!

Look for an update on USB sync for webOS 2.x and 3.x in the coming weeks!

 

BlackBerry 7 Devices and CompanionLink

Image Credit: VentureBeat.comPlanning on getting one of the new BlackBerry 7 devices that were released this past weekend? I have good news  – CompanionLink works great with each of them!

That’s right – the BlackBerry Bold 9930, BlackBerry Torch 9850, and BlackBerry Torch 9810 are all fully compatible with CompanionLink’s current sync options for BlackBerry. Whether you want USB sync via BlackBerry Desktop, basic wireless sync via Google, or advanced wireless sync via CompanionLink Secure Hosted, we’ve got you covered.

Head over to our downloads page to get syncing!

Copy and Paste Events With DejaOffice 1.12 for Android

DejaOffice 1.12 beta brought a big new feature to our Android app: time zone support. That’s not the only big news, however. We’ve also introduced a feature that many of you have been asking for recently: the ability to copy and paste events in DejaCalendar.

Copying and pasting events works just like you’d expect. In the day view or week view, just tap and hold (long press) on an event to bring up the context menu. Then, select “Copy” or “Cut.” Next, navigate to the day/week you want to move it to, tap and hold in a blank calendar space near the time you want, and select “Paste” from the context menu. It’s that easy!

Can’t wait to try this out? Head over to the DejaOffice website to download the latest Android beta. Have any other ideas for us on how to make DejaOffice better? Let us know!

CompanionLink 4048, DejaOffice 1.12 (beta) for Android, and Time Zones

Image Credit: GigaOm

It’s been a busy week at CompanionLink! We have two new updates available today: CompanionLink 4048 and DejaOffice 1.12 (beta) for Android. They both bring a number of new features, bug fixes, and improvements, but the biggest new feature is time zone support. More on that in a minute.

CompanionLink 4048 addresses a number of bugs and offers some overall improvements, especially for Salesforce and Goldmine users. Build 4048 also adds improved support for syncing across time zones – a feature we’ve added to the latest Android beta of DejaOffice. Take a look at the full release notes at the end of this post to learn more about all the changes in build 4048.

DejaOffice 1.12 (beta) for Android is a significant update. We’ve improved quite a few features and fixed a number of bugs. Of course, as mentioned above, the feature we’re most excited to share with you today is time zone support. DejaOffice now offers you a choice in how to handle your events when changing time zones. Once you enter a new time zone, you’ll be asked if you’d like your events to shift. You can choose one of three options: “Not Decided,” “No,” and “Yes.”

Not Decided asks when changing time zones if you want event times to shift. This is the default behavior. You’ll have the option to select “Yes” or “No” each time you enter a new time zone. Alternatively, you can tell DejaOffice to always select one option.

Selecting “No” ignores the time zone at your current location. This prevents event display times from shifting when you travel to a different time zone. With this setting, an event set for 1pm Pacific Time will show up as 1pm when you enter Eastern Time.

Choosing “Yes” has the opposite effect. It adjusts the event display times using the time zone at your current location. This means an event set for 1pm Pacific Time will display as 4pm when you enter Eastern Time.

You can find these options under Settings > General Settings within DejaOffice. If you’d like to try out this new feature, as well as take advantage of the numerous other improvements we’ve made, download the latest Android beta here.

Read on for the release notes… Continue reading

CompanionLink Named a Sage Gold Development Partner of the Year

Yesterday, CompanionLink attended an award ceremony at Sage Summit 2011 in Washington D.C. Sage recognized CompanionLink as a Sage Gold Development Partner of the Year for 2011. We are honored to be recognized in this way. We’d also like to congratulate the other developers who were mentioned alongside CompanionLink – great work!

The ceremony was just one part of the Sage Summit conference that a few of us from CompanionLink are currently attending. ACT! has always been one of the core products we support, and it’s great to see some familiar faces as well as meet new ACT! consultants. If you happen to be at the show, swing by booth 164 to say hello! Rushang & I look forward to meeting you.

Password-Protected Data Now Available On iOS

DejaOffice 1.2.4 should be arriving in the App Store as you read this post. This update contains a number of new features, improvements, and bug fixes. The full release notes are included below, but I wanted to highlight one feature that I’m sure many of you will appreciate: Password-protected data.

This feature allows you to secure sensitive data on your device by either hiding or masking your private contacts, tasks, and memos. Private records require a password to view or edit, keeping your data secure.

Configuring private records is simple. To mark a contact, task, or memo as private, simply tick the checkbox labeled “private” when editing or creating it. Before you notice any change, you’ll need to adjust the settings for private records. Go to the “Settings” menu in DejaOffice and select “Private Records.” There you can choose to Show Private (always show private records), Mask Records (replace text with ***), or Hide Records (completely hide private records from view). You’ll also find settings for syncing private records, privacy timeouts, and passwords.

I should note that if you choose to “Hide Records” you will need to select the “DejaContacts” (or DejaTasks or DejaMemos) menu and choose “Show Private”. This will prompt you to enter your password to reveal your hidden records.

Of course, Private Records are just one of the many updates we’ve made in DejaOffice 1.2.4 – see the list of changes below, then head over to the App Store to download your update today!

DejaOffice v1.2.4:
– added Private field to Contacts, Tasks, Memos
– added options to Show/Hide/Mask private records
– added option to password protect private records
– improved UI for DejaTasks and DejaMemos
– improved context menu UI for Contacts/Tasks/Memos
– adding linked contacts in DejaTasks now reads DejaContacts vs. Apple’s contacts
– added Project field to DejaTasks
– added DejaContacts links to DejaToday (tasks only)
– fixed an issue where user edited custom field labels did not show in DejaContacts
– fixes an issue where deletions may not sync between Apple contacts and DejaContacts
– fixes an issue where contacts purged from CL do not appear to purge until reopening DJO
– fixes an issue where DejaToday did not show tasks due today
– fixed an issue where the Release Notes app would open each time DJO was opened

CompanionLink At Sage Summit 2011

Image Credit: Sage SummitCompanionLink will be at Sage Summit 2011 in Washington D.C. from July 10th to July 13th. If you are planning on attending, be sure to swing by booth #164 to say hi to Rushang and myself! We’ll have some of the latest iOS and Android devices on hand to demonstrate how our mobile app, DejaOffice, brings business-class functions to these devices.

ACT! has been on of the most consistent products we have worked with at CompanionLink. We‘re looking forward to catching up with many ACT! users and consultants at the Summit. Hopefully we’ll see you there!

Even if you aren’t attending Sage Summit this year, I encourage you to watch for updates from the road on our Twitter and Facebook pages. We’ll share our thoughts and comments from the show floor, so be sure to follow along!

CompanionLink Ranks Among The Fastest-Growing Companies In Portland

Over 800 people gathered last Thursday for the Portland Business Journal’s 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies event, held at the Portland Art Museum. We were thrilled to be among them, knowing that CompanionLink had made the list, somewhere among the top 100 companies.

As the Portland Business Journal counted down from 100, we waited with anticipation to see where we ranked. As we listened for our name, more and more companies were recognized for their stellar year over year growth. The announcer finally arrived at CompanionLink Software – the 18th fastest-growing private company in Portland!

We are very grateful to have achieved this status, and we couldn’t have done it without you – our customers. Thank you for your support!